My Angel
by mandymallette
Summary: What would happen if Emmett had been around to save Rosalie before Royce attacked her? How will Rose's life change? Could it work out between Rosalie, the rich, superficial girl and Emmett, the charming not-so-well off boy? Set in modern times. All Human
1. His Angel

**Summary:** **What would happen if Emmett had been around to save Rosalie before Royce attacked her? How will Rose's life change? How will she change? Could it work out between Rosalie, the rich, superficial girl and Emmett, the charming not-so-well off boy? Rosalie's not so sure... Set in modern times. All Human! OCs**

**Authour's Note: So, I've never really written or even read an Emmett and Rosalie story but this idea just popped into my head the other day. So, yeah, here's the first chapter hope you like it!**

Chapter 1- His Angel

"Hey McCarty, get moving! You should have been up by now!" Emmett jumped out of his sleep at the sound of Riley's voice. _Oh right I have training to do today, _Emmett thought groggily struggling to open his eyes.

"Oh come on! When you said we would do training in the morning I thought you meant _morning _not 6:00 am!" Emmett grumbled as he rolled out of bed.

"If you wanna be a firefighter you'll have to learn to get up a little faster, a house could burn down while you're laying there you know! Now get dressed, you've got some training to do!" Riley barked as a smile played on his lips; he was clearly enjoying the chance to order someone around.

Emmett grumbled as he got out dressed but there was a sparkle of mischief in his blue eyes.

Riley was glancing around the room, waiting impatiently for Emmett to be ready, then out of nowhere he felt his body flying towards the ground. He looked up to see Emmett's large frame tackling him to the floor, an impish smile on Emmett's face showing his dimples. Riley struggled but it was to no avail, as muscular as he might be he was no match for Emmett.

"Hey come on!" Riley protested playfully. "If you don't let me go you won't be able to eat the breakfast I made."  
At the mention of food Emmett's eyes lit up and he quickly jumped off Riley. Riley smiled as he shook his blonde hair out of his eyes; his plan had worked. He then hastily got up and followed after Emmett. "For that you get an extra hard work out today!" He called out to Emmett, his brown eyes twinkling mischievously.

* * *

"Rose dear, it's time to get up. You wouldn't want to be late for your breakfast with Royce!" Her mother's voice sang over the intercom.

Rosalie's eyes popped open at the sound her fiancé's name. She jumped out of bed and hurried to get ready. She wanted everything to look perfect when she went out with Royce.

After spending what seemed like hours fixing her hair, her make-up and finding the perfect outfit, Rosalie was finally ready. Her long blonde hair looked beautiful as always only outshone by the rest of her.

It may seem like a lot of effort but she knew it would all be worth it. In just a few weeks she would be married to _Royce King, _whose family practically owned the city. Then she would live in a beautiful, big house, have the most beautiful children and live the life she had always wanted. With all that, she'd be the happiest girl in the world she just knew it.

* * *

"Okay two more and then you can take a break." Riley instructed.

"Yes sir!" Emmett said giving Riley a mock salute, his eyes dancing with amusement. He then swiftly dropped to the ground and did two more push-ups then jumped up. At the same instance he jumped up Riley threw his water bottle to him but had "accidently" forgotten to put the lid on properly so the water flew in Emmett's face soaking his hair.

"Sorry, I must have forgotten to close it…" Riley said innocently. Emmett glared at him for a second, then with a little smirk on his face proceeded to shake his head causing the water to fly out of his short brown curls into Riley's face.

"Hey!" Riley protested loudly. "Wait, never mind that water feels pretty good actually. It's way too hot out here. "

"Why are you the one that's too hot when I'm the one working my butt off?" Emmett asked, shaking his head.

"Well, you know when you're hot you're hot and I'm hot." Riley said conceitedly, his eyes twinkling.

"If it worked that way you would be cold compared to me." Emmett said bursting into a booming laugh. "So, am I finished now?"

"Yeah, I guess so, I've gotta stop somewhere on the way home though. There's a job opening at some fancy restaurant and I've got nothing to do for the summer so I figure I'd apply there."

"Except of course bug me _all the time_, I think a job would definitely be good for you." Emmett nodded smirking.

* * *

"Wow, you really look beautiful today Rose." Royce said, his voice dripping with sweetness.

"Thanks." Rosalie said, her voice lighting up with pleasure. All her effort was worth it. Of course people called her beautiful all the time but somehow it sounded so much better coming from her fiancé. After all he must really mean since she was already marrying him so it's not like he had to say it. So he must be sincere, right? At least that's what Rosalie thought.

They talked for a while about different things, their lives, their wedding. All the while Rosalie was envisioning their wonderful future together.

Just then Royce glanced down at his watch. "Oh! I didn't realize how late it gotten. I really have to go, business to do, you know? You'll be able to get home, right?" He asked, hastily getting up from the table.

"Of course, I can just call for the car." Rosalie replied.

"Ok, good. I'll call you later. Good bye, Darling." Royce said giving her a quick peck on the cheek and dropping a wad of cash on the table to pay for their meal.

"Good bye." Rosalie said faintly as her fiancé hurriedly walked away. As she got up to leave couldn't get the nagging thought out of her mind that something was wrong but she didn't know why.

* * *

Emmett sighed impatiently as he got out of the car, Riley was taking a lot longer than he'd expected. Maybe he'd actually gotten an interview with the manager or something.

Emmett looked around restlessly, glancing towards the door where Riley had gone in and then he saw _her_. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her long blonde hair was swaying in the breeze, her captivating violet eyes drawing him in, her tall slender figure practically calling out to him. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

How could he meet this angel? He wondered. If he just walked over to her, maybe he could ask her the time or something…

Deep in thought, he didn't notice Riley had already walked out of the restaurant. Suddenly he saw a hand waving in front of his face. This irritated him greatly, how dare someone block his view of that vision!

"Hey Emmett! Snap out of it!" Riley called to him, breaking him out of his reverie.

"Huh? Oh, I didn't see you come out. Did you see that girl over there?" Emmett asked, shaking himself out of his daze.

"Obviously you did." Riley teased. "While you were staring you didn't happen to notice the big ring on her finger, did you? She's engaged, probably to some rich guy too, judging from the size of the diamond on that thing."

"Uh-huh…" Emmett murmured, his eyes still following her as she got into a car. "I wonder who she is though…"

* * *

Rosalie felt someone's gaze on her while she got into the car. She didn't think too much of it though, people stared at her all the time.

"Where to Miss Hale? Home?" The driver inquired, looking up as she sat down.

"No, I don't think so. Could you bring me to Vera's?" Rosalie responded. Vera had been her best friend for as long as Rose could remember. Most people called her V though, she didn't like the name Vera very much, said it made her feel like an old lady which made sense since she'd been named after her grandmother. She had just been married a few months ago actually.

Of course, Rosalie would never have married the guy; he was only a construction worker after all. Not nearly good enough for someone like her.

That was part of the reason she hadn't visited V in a while. She just couldn't understand why her friend would have married someone like _that_. She could've gotten much better, you know?

But Rose decided to give up trying to understand her best friend's mind; they had been married for a few months now anyways. She had barely visited Vera since then and she was missing her.

Just as Rosalie was thinking these things the car drove up in front of V's house. This was another thing she couldn't understand, why would V want to live in this little house in one of the poorer parts of town? Rosalie shook her head as she rang the doorbell, confused at the thought of wanting to live in a house like this.

Her wonderings were quickly forgotten as soon as Vera opened the door. V was all smiles, clearly overjoyed to see her friend.

"Rosie! Where have you been? I've missed you so much!" She cried out emphatically, wrapping Rosalie up in a very enthusiastic hug.

Rosalie had to smile at her friend, her green eyes bright with excitement, her red hair as wild as ever. Oh how she'd missed her!

"Oh, I've missed you too! I'm so sorry I haven't visited in so long." Rose apologized, squeezing her friend tightly. That's when she noticed something; V was bigger than usual…

She promptly moved back to look at V. "Oh my goodness! V are you pregnant?" She near squealed but at the same time she felt a twinge of jealousy but she quickly concealed it.

V's eyes danced with happiness, "Shh, I've just told my Matthew about it, the whole neighbourhood doesn't have to know yet." She teased.

Rosalie realized then that they were still standing in the doorway with the door wide open. She hurriedly moved further in and closed the door as V led her into the living room.

"I'm so happy for you! You must be so excited, I'm so excited! Maybe we can have our kids growing up together!" She exclaimed happily, already picturing it in her mind.

V joined in soon and the two of them were almost planning their kids' wedding when Rose's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" She answered the phone cheerfully; the image of her children's wedding still in her mind.

"Hello Darling" Royce's voice came across the line."You sound like you're in a good mood, what are you up to?"

"Oh, I'm just hanging out with V." Rosalie replied toning her exuberance down a bit.

"Really?" For some reason Rose thought she heard disdain in his voice when he said this but shook it off as nothing. "I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight, say at nine?" He questioned, his voice oozing charm.

Rosalie was slightly surprised at the lateness of the meeting but was thrilled at having two dates with him in one day. "Sure, sounds great! But I have to go now, I'll see you then!" She hung up happily.

The time passed quickly after that and before Rose knew it V's husband, Matthew, was walking in from work. He promptly watched over to V and kissed her on the cheek. "Hello Darling!"

It was strange to Rosalie; Royce had said the same words to her early _and _kissed her on the cheek but something about the exchange between V and Matthew seemed different, sweeter maybe. It was like just in that little way they had expressed so much love for each other, but Royce loved her right?

After all, he had asked her out _twice _today, had bought her this amazing engagement ring and was always spoiling her. She was probably making something out of nothing or at least that's what she tried to think. Still the love, the sweetness, she had heard in Matthew's voice wouldn't seem to leave her mind.

Once Matthew had arrived it seemed to get pretty awkward. Rosalie knew it was probably her fault, Matthew _was_ trying but she was barely civil to him. After about half an hour of the awkwardness she decided it was probably time for her to go.

"You better visit again soon! You can't just go weeks with without coming to see me like that, okay?" V insisted as she said her goodbye.

"I promise I'll try to drop by again soon. I missed not seeing you for so long too! Anyways, I'll have to be around to see how that baby is coming along!" Rosalie said smiling and giving her friend a quick kiss on the cheek.

* * *

"Alright, I'm going out for a run. I'll be back in a little while!" Emmett called back to Riley as he slipped his jacket on and walked out.

He knew going for a run would probably wake him and he should really be getting to bed early since Riley would be waking him up early again tomorrow. But he couldn't sleep now anyways, he just couldn't get that girl out of his head.

_Come on Emmett, focus, it's just a girl. _Emmett thought to himself, pushing himself to run faster to try and distract himself from the girl who was taking over his mind.

He breathed in the night air, taking in his surroundings. It really was a beautiful night, the sun was just disappearing from the horizon and the moon was casting its beams on all that was below it. Emmett quickly got lost in his thoughts, forgetting the girl for now.

He had probably been running for about a half hour when he passed a nearby bar. From a distance he heard drunken laughter and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Although he had turned twenty-one a few months ago he rarely drank, he didn't like what it had done to his father.

He was trying to shake the memories out of his head when he suddenly heard a girl scream for help. He stopped abruptly and looked around trying to figure out where the scream came from. He heard another scream and hastily ran in the direction it came from.

He stopped in an alley near the bar he had just passed and looked around for the girl. Then he heard that drunken laughter again. Disgusted, he turned in the direction of it. That's when he saw the girl, for a fleeting moment he paused because to his great surprise it was the same beautiful girl he had seen earlier. That surprise was soon replaced by indignation and shock at what he saw.

The girl was being pushed up against a wall and forcefully kissed by one guy while two others stood by laughing. He watched, horrified, for a second, then the guy who had been kissing her suddenly jerked back and grabbed the girl's shirt and ripped it open. Emmett watched in horror as the buttons flew away, scattering across the pavement. At the sight of that he snapped, flying through the air at her attacker.

**Authour's Note: So what do think? Am I the only one whose nose wrinkles in disgust every time Royce is mentioned? Do you think Emmett will be able to fight off **_**three**_** other guys?  
Review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Her Angel

Chapter 2- Her Angel

Rosalie couldn't believe what was happening. She'd gone out to meet Royce like they had planned earlier; she was really excited about it too. On her way there she was wondering about the strange meeting place on the other side of town, especially since it was getting kind of late. She thought maybe he was going to take her somewhere else after, for a surprise maybe, their wedding was coming up pretty soon so that would make sense. _Yes, that must be it, a surprise_, Rosalie thought optimistically.

When she'd arrived she definitely had a surprise too. He had two friends with him and the three of them were totally drunk. Right then she knew something was wrong. Royce had always told her he didn't drink. That was firsts of many lies she realized that night…

At first, he just introduced her to his friends; their names were John and Steve. Then they started looking her over, whispering something she didn't hear to Royce. She tried to stay calm, hoping she could leave soon.

Royce seemed to understand she was uncomfortable too because he put his arm around her and apologized. But then he suddenly started pushing her around, kissing her much too forcefully as he pinned her up against a wall. She pleaded with him to stop but he ignored. She screamed at the other guys to help her but they just laughed. In that instance she understood, she understood what they had been whispering about, what he was apologizing for.

She felt the panic coming on; she didn't know what to do. She struggled to get out of his grasp but it was no use he was much stronger than her. She screamed with all her might but no one was listening. She fell to pieces, sobbing and Royce backed away abruptly. For a moment she thought hopefully that he was letting her go but then he just grabbed her blouse and ripped it open. She didn't know what to do, there was no way to stop him; she couldn't fight him off.

Right at the moment she was finally giving up, someone, an angel it seemed to Rosalie, flew out of nowhere throwing Royce off of her. She stood there, shocked and relieved in the same instance. She held her breath for a few seconds, not sure what would have happen now. Would Royce fight back? Could this one guy, even if he was an angel, really take on the three of them?

Rosalie was relieved when she saw them stumbling away instead. She finally let herself breathe again. It would be okay, she would be alright.

But then it all came rushing back at her, all Royce had done, all the lies he had told, all the dreams that had just been crushed. She felt yet another tear running down her face, not for what he had done to her so much as for the future that had just been snatched away from her.

A sob tore through her body as she mourned the children, the house, the life she would never have. What was she going to do now? Everything she thought her life would be had changed. How could she ever trust a guy again if the one she loved and trusted that most had deceived and attacked her?

Maybe she could just stay single all her life, after all if men can't be trusted anyways why bother trusting them at all? _I'll never let myself trust a guy again,_ Rosalie resolved, _then I can never get hurt again…. _

Just then she felt something on her shoulders and flinched back unconsciously and took a quick breath in. She looked up and relaxed slightly when she realized it wasn't Royce. While she was deep in thought, her rescuer had turned back to her and, noticing her torn shirt, was putting a jacket over her shoulders. She slipped her arms into the sleeves; it must have been his because she was practically swimming in it.

She smiled a faint smile of thank you and as she did she couldn't help but take a peek at him. Even though she was swearing off guys she had to admit this one was pretty good looking. He wore a sleeveless shirt which revealed very well-muscled arms. As she looked up at his face she noticed a slight smile of sympathy showing the most beautiful dimples and deep blue eyes that made her take a second look. On the top if his head he had brown curls that were slightly messed up, probably from when he took the jacket off for her, but that just added to his charm.

After looking him over for a few seconds she quickly looked away. _No, Rose, don't start that. You just decided to stay away from guys._ She said to herself, mentally shaking him out of her thoughts.

Just then his voice broke through her thoughts. "Are you ok? I should probably get you help or something..." He said, concerned.

Rosalie shook her head stiffly, "No, I'll be alright. Thank you though." She answered back, starting to walk away. She'd be fine on her own.

He followed her without delay, putting his hand on her arm to stop her. She flinched away at the touch. "Sorry but please wait. I'm not going to hurt you. I really just want to help you that's all. My name's Emmett, Emmett McCarty." He explained carefully, putting his hand out to shake her hand.

"I'm Rosalie Hale." She introduced herself, taking his hand uncertainly to shake it.

"Rosalie, that's a beautiful name." He smiled, showing those beautiful dimples again, rattling Rosalie thoughts again.

"Thanks." She said looking away, partly to avoid looking at those dimples, partly to hide the blush she could feel coming.

People complimented her all the time but something but this guy made her flustered, not like he was a bad guy, of course she probably wasn't the best judge of character; it was more that she was very aware that she was attracted to him and she was pretty sure he felt the same way.

But even though she may be attracted to him, it didn't matter, or at least that's what she told herself. She'd been attracted to Royce, she'd been charmed by him too, and look where had that got her.

"So, now that we know each other." Emmett said, his eyes sparkling. His words once again bringing her back to reality, she looked back at him. "I insist on bringing you home." He said seriously.

"I don't know…"Rosalie said uneasily. "I could just take a taxi home."

"Trust me; a ride home with me is much better. For one thing it's free, and don't forget the best part, it's with me." Emmett said his eyes dancing. "Seriously, though, it's late, you shouldn't go by yourself. I don't live very far anyways. I could just call my roommate to bring the car over and we can bring you home."

Rosalie immediately snapped up when she heard the words "trust me", her defenses going up. How could she trust him? She didn't even know him…but he _had _saved her. Maybe, he could be trusted, at least enough to give her a ride home.

"Alright… Emmett, I guess a ride home with you would be alright." She said nodding her head.

He smiled widely back at her and took his cell phone out of his pocket to call his roommate. She listened slightly as he talked quietly to his roommate about picking her up. She was pleased to notice that he didn't say exactly what had happened to her, just that she needed help; a ride home.

He hung up and then led her out of the alley so his roommate would be able to find them. As they stood under the street light waiting for him, Rosalie heard drunken laughter in the distance and felt herself stiffen as memories of drunken laughter flashed before her eyes.

Before she had a chance to think about it much though, a car pulled up in front of them. The guy in the front seat's eyes widened when he saw Rosalie and he looked at Emmett, shaking his head in amazement.

Emmett smiled slightly as Rosalie watched in confusion and then he turned to her. "Rosalie, this is my best friend and roommate Riley St. Clair. Riley, this is Rosalie Hale." Emmett introduced them.

Riley had gotten out of the car while Emmett was introducing them. He smiled at her "It's nice to meet you, Rosalie." He took her hand kissed it softly, almost impishly. "I really am sorry it had to be under these circumstances though" He added, his eyes softening with concern."

She had tensed slightly at his touch but tried to relax as she saw the compassion in his eyes. He seemed to understand, which was strange since Emmett hadn't told him much but then she remembered her face must be a mess of tears and make-up. That must have tipped him off to the fact something was pretty wrong.

He then turned to back to Emmett casually, "You want to drive, right?" Riley guessed. Emmett nodded and Riley slid into the back seat easily.

"Shall we?" Emmett said, a charming little smile on his face as he escorted Rosalie to her door on the other side of the car. He opened her door for her and then swiftly walked back to his side and got in.

"So, just out of curiosity, where exactly am I bringing you? Or did you just want me to drive around until I eventually find your house?"Emmett asked, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

"Oh yeah" Rosalie said shaking her head. "I live on East Avenue. I'll point out the house to you once we get there."

Emmett nodded, looking ahead to try and hide the fact his eyes widened at her address. East Avenue was definitely in a different part of town. It was the street where all the high class people in Rochester lived; the street was packed with mansions.

Throughout the trip to her house, Emmett and Riley were making casual conversation, including Rosalie whenever possible. Their topics almost deliberately stayed on light subjects but it didn't seem awkward at all. Between their interesting topics of conversations and Emmett and Riley's continual bantering they had actually gotten Rosalie to smile a few times and almost laugh too.

As they were getting closer to where Rosalie lived, Emmett noticed her wiping her eyes off with her hands and trying to carefully clean up her make-up in the mirror. He tried to find the box of tissues he knew was somewhere in the car but had trouble looking while driving. Fortunately, Riley caught on to what he was doing and found them and offered some to Rosalie.

"Here, hun, these might work a little better than your hands." He said softly, passing a stack of tissues to her. She smiled gratefully and took them. She wanted to look at least somewhat presentable when she got home. Explaining it all would be awkward enough; especially considering her mother was practically in love with Royce. Cleaning her face might lessen the awkwardness at least a bit.

By the time Rosalie had finished cleaning herself up they were on East Avenue. She looked around as they continued driving until she pointed out her house. It wasn't the _biggest _house on the street but it was in no way small either.

Emmett pulled the car up in front of the house, unable to get in because the gate was closed. He quickly got out and opened Rosalie's door for her, walking her to the gate. As they got there, Rosalie started to take the jacket but Emmett stopped her.

"You keep it; you need it more than I do right now. Anyways, it gives me a reason to see you again. "He said, winking flirtatiously.

Rosalie blushed slightly but smiled back at him. "Thanks… for everything." Rosalie said softly as she walked through the now-opening gate. She walked slowly towards her house as Emmett watched her fade into the distance.

As she walked back she felt better, the way they had been relaxed and lighthearted but also compassionate and concerned had helped her some. If anything they helped take her mind off of it a bit and she was glad of that.

She knew it would come back eventually though and, unfortunately, eventually had to be now. She sighed, remembering once again what had happened. She wondered what her mother would think; would she be as shocked as Rose had been? Rosalie was sure her mother would understand. She'd understand that she couldn't trust men anymore.

Just as she thought on that she heard a car driving away and looked back at it, her thoughts turned back to the man who drove that car. As much as she didn't want to deal with guys anymore she couldn't help but think about him, his sparkling blue eyes and beautiful dimples. _Could I really trust him?_ She wondered silently. He hadn't done anything to show she shouldn't trust him. He _had_ saved her from Royce, given her a ride home and been very understanding through the whole thing. _Maybe I could trust him… _Rosalie thought as she opened the immense front door of her house. After all, he was _her angel_.

**Authour's Note: Yes! Rosalie is saved! But is she going to trust Emmett? And what about Royce, is he gone forever? Review and tell me what you think!**


	3. Worse than a Nightmare

**Authour's Note: Hey, Everyone! Before I get to this chapter, I just want to say thank you for all the reviews! I love them and love you guys for writing them!  
Anyways... you can go read the chapter now!**

Chapter 3- Worse than a nightmare

"Well," Riley commented as he slipped into the passenger seat, "That was just the weirdest coincidence ever. First you see this girl and practically swoon over her. (This he said with a little smirk on his face) Then later that day you just _happen _to see her getting attacked by a bunch of guys and swoop in to save her. Pretty convenient for you."

Emmett looked over at him and glared. "I'm not sure convenient is how I'd put it. She _did _get attacked, you know." He spat angrily through his clenched teeth.

"Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that. I would never want any girl to get attacked like that," Riley amended quickly. "Not after what happened to Nat in back in high school." His eyes saddened as he unwillingly recalled the dark memories from so many years ago.

Emmett nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I know, it just pisses me off. How could someone do something like that to a girl? It just makes me sick. As soon as I saw what was happening, I just snapped. It was like Nat all over again, except this time I could something about it. Another innocent girl didn't have to get hurt." He faded off, his hands still shaking in anger.

In his mind he could still see Rosalie screaming in terror as she struggled to get away, he sighed inwardly, thankful he got there soon enough to help. He should have beat up that filthy animal while he had a chance though. He had been right in his grasp but all Emmett's rage had quickly been replaced by concern for Rosalie when he'd heard her crying. If he ever saw that guy again though it would be a different story...

They drove in silence for a few minutes, both of them reluctant to continue the conversation. Finally, Riley spoke. "At least one girl was saved before it was too late." He said softly, almost to himself.

"And speaking of that girl," He brighten up now. "Since you saved her and all what are you gonna do about it? Are you going to call her or at least try to find her number?" He asked.

"You do remember the ring you pointed out to me earlier don't you? I'm sure her _fiancé (_he drew the word out as if Riley couldn't understand it_)_ wouldn't be too happy about me hitting on his girl." Emmett shook his head with a little smile of amusement.

"Phfft, some fiancé! Where was _he _when she got attacked? No, no, he doesn't matter anymore. Now is your chance." Riley tried to be serious but his eyes were sparkling with laughter.

Emmett rolled his eyes at his friend. "What kind of guy do you think I am? Moving in on an engaged girl right after she got attacked... No, Riley, I am not going to call her." He said seriously. "Now on the other hand if she just happens to find my number in my jacket pocket and decides to call me. That is totally different." Emmett smiled to himself.

"So, you did do something!" Riley exclaimed triumphantly.

"I just wrote that if she wanted to talk to call me, you know if she was upset and needed a friend. Nothing else." Emmett replied, now serious.

"Yeah, well, maybe she'll dump the guy. Then you'll be there and it'll all work out." Riley trailed off as he saw Emmett's look.

He looked up and realized they were in the parking garage of their building. "Hey, look we're home!" He quickly jumped out of the car. "You'd better get to bed early too! Remember training in the morning! Riley called back to Emmett. "Maybe, we can "accidentally" run into Rosalie while we're doing it too." He said, a little quieter, almost to himself.

Emmett smiled after him, imagining the plans running through his friend's mind. Riley was always the matchmaker and it wasn't the first time Emmett had landed up in the middle of one of his schemes.

Even as he laughed off his friend's plans though he couldn't help but hope maybe it could work out like he said. Remembering her as she had walked away, even with her make-up streaking down her face and her hair ruffled from the struggle she still looked absolutely beautiful, still like an angel. He sighed wistfully, but no, his angel wasn't really _his_ angel. Her heart belonged to someone else and he wouldn't interfere.

* * *

Rosalie was lying across her bed, awake like she had been all night. Her face stiff from all the tears she'd cried. Still wearing the same clothes she had been last night. She had cried many tears last night, many for reasons she never would have expected.

When she'd come home last night she was sure that her mother would understand, would be supportive, and comforting. After all her mom had always been there whenever Rose had needed her before, hadn't she?

But when she came in her mother had just questioned her about where she'd gotten the jacket, who the guys were who drove her home, and why she would take a ride from them. The questioning went on for what seemed like hours to Rosalie.

Once Rosalie had gotten a chance to explain what had happened with Royce, what he had done to her, she had already broken down into tears. Waiting for her mother's response telling her it would be okay and that Royce never deserved her, Rosalie was shocked and disappointed at that reaction she got. Her mother just downplayed it all saying she was probably just overreacting, Royce didn't really hurt her that much. He probably didn't mean to either, Royce would never do that. She probably was just having cold feet about the wedding, that was natural her mother said.

"_Overreacting? Cold feet?"_ Rose thought bitterly as laid in bed, what did her mother think? She had ripped her own shirt, bruised her own arms? All because she wasn't sure if she wanted to marry Royce? What kind of person did her mother think she was?

The only thing she'd gotten right was not being sure about the wedding but even that wasn't completely right. She _was _sure about the wedding, sure it would never happen. She would never let Royce near her again.

After Rosalie had tried talking to mom, she went up to bed, hoping maybe when she woke up it would all be a bad dream. But I as she was lying there, trying to sleep, she knew it wasn't a dream that would go away. No, it was worse than a nightmare, it was a reality she'd have to live with.

Now she wouldn't even have the help of her mother because apparently she didn't think Rosalie could tell the difference between near rape and cold feet.

That's when she broke down again. It was bad enough having your fiancé betray you but having your mother ignore it like it's nothing was horrible.

Now who did she have? If her mother wouldn't listen to her then who would? Probably not her father, he didn't really care, or at least that's what it always seemed like to Rosalie. He was constantly working on his business, left her mother to tend to Rosalie.

As Rose lay there, in the middle of the night, thinking about how alone she really was, breathing in and out slowly to calm her herself, she realized what she was wearing. It was the jacket her angel had given her, _Emmett. _She smiled softly to herself; at least she knew one person cared.

At that she closed her eyes, gradually drifting to sleep but then when she finally fell asleep all she could see was Royce's despicable face before her. Rosalie jumped out of her bed, disgusted at the man she'd once found so attractive. But it wasn't just disgust that she felt, there was anger, and disappointment, and despair. All her future had been wrapped up in him.

No longer wanting to sleep, she started pacing her room. She tried distracting herself by listening to music but all of seemed to connect to Royce somehow. The TV was no help either, far too many romances. Why did people watch those anyways? It's all a lie; those people didn't really love each other. Love is a lie people tell to get what they want.

Eventually she gave up and went back to bed. Not wanting to sleep but not knowing what else to do. That's where she stayed for hours until she finally saw the sun shining brightly through her window.

She finally got up, going to the bathroom to clean herself up. She took the clothes from yesterday off, carefully laying the jacket off to the side and discarding the other clothes in the trash can. She definitely never wanted to wear those clothes again.

She took her time getting ready, taking a shower, doing her hair and make-up, finding an outfit, anything to distract her from her thoughts. Once she was finished, she stopped to look at herself in the mirror. _So, what now?_ She wondered to herself. She was all dressed up with no place to go.

She started wandering around her room, picking up stuff off the floor. As she picked up Emmett's jacket, she noticed a small paper fall to the ground. Curious, she picked it and read it. _Hey, if you ever need a friend or just want to talk someone call me 389-6598 –Emmett. _Rosalie smiled faintly to herself as she flipped it over in her hands wondering how he could have put that in the pocket without her noticing.

She slipped the paper in her pocket and went downstairs, hoping it was late enough to avoid seeing her mother at breakfast. When she got to the dining room she saw to her great relief that it was empty. She ate her breakfast slowly, thinking about what she was going to do. She still wasn't sure about Emmett, maybe he could be trusted, or maybe he couldn't be. Rosalie wasn't sure so for now so she'd just stay away. Better safe than sorry.

After she finished eating she wandered around the house, looking for something to do. As she was walking through the various rooms she noticed a picture of V and her. She smiled, feeling a glimmer of hope. She did have someone, someone who would believe her, who would understand, someone she knew she could trust.

She hurried to find a phone and dialed V's number. "Hello, Browne Residence." Rosalie heard her friend's cheerful voice over the line.

"Hey, V! I know I just saw you yesterday but I was hoping we could talk. Would it be okay if I came over?" Rosalie asked quickly, in a hurry to get it out.

"Sure, Rosie, is everything okay?" V asked; her once cheerful voice now full of worry.

Rosalie shook her head. "No, no it's not, but I'd really rather talk to you about it in person."

"Of course." V answered understandingly. "I'll have the tea ready when you get here."

"Thanks." Rose breathed, relieved. "I'll see you soon!"

Rosalie hurried to get a ride and was soon on her way there. As she sat in the car anxious to get to V's, she smiled as she remembered her friend's reference to tea. Ever since middle school whenever they had to talk about something important, good or bad, they always made tea. Back then they'd felt so grown-up too. It was almost a ritual for them now. As she thought of it, Rose remembered the last time she had news that was tea-worthy was when she got engaged to Royce. _Isn't that ironic? _She thought wryly to herself.

Before she knew it they were driving in to V's driveway. As she walked to the door she breathed in deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She was sure that V would understand, but she couldn't help being a little _un_sure. After all she had been sure her mother would understand too.

Just like yesterday though, everything was forgotten as soon as V opened the door. Rosalie burst into sobs as V wrapped her arms around comfortingly.

Through the sobs, Rose relayed the whole story to V as listened quietly. After she had finished V assured her over and over that it wasn't her fault at all and that everything would be okay.

After emphatically agreeing with Rosalie's conclusions about Royce though she tried to convince her that all men are not like him.

"Rosie, I understand why you would think this really I do" V said, "But not every guy is like Royce and his friends."

At this Rose shook her head stubbornly, "No, if the man I trusted and loved the most can't be trusted than no one else can."

V smiled understandingly and rubbed her shoulder. "Please don't give up on them completely, Rose. I _know_ there are good guys out there. Like my Matthew. And what about those guys who helped you? Do they seem like bad guys to you?"

Rosalie shook her head slowly, uncertainly. "I don't know about them." She sighed. "They seem like they can be trusted but I thought I could trust Royce too. How do I know if I can trust my own judgement anymore?"

"Sometimes", V said gently, "you just have to take a chance. Don't be reckless of course, but just trust what your heart is telling you." She paused for a minute to look at Rosalie who was looking off into the distance.

"But" she continued, "That doesn't mean you have to start dating right away, just don't close your heart off to people because you're afraid."

They were both were silent as Rosalie thought about what her friend had said. _Maybe V's right, _she thought, _maybe __some__ guys are okay. After all Matthew seems to treat her pretty well..._

She nodded her head slowly, "Maybe, you're right, V, I'll have to think about it, okay?"

She reluctantly got up to leave. "Thanks, for listening and for being here for me. There's not very many people in my life that I can say that about, I'm glad you're one of them." Rosalie smiled gratefully and said good bye.

"One thing before you go, I know it's hard but try not to dwell on it all too much. If you do, your anger will become like a poison, slowly draining any happiness out of your life. Then all you'll be left with is a cold, bitter heart. And I know you don't want that." V said carefully.

Rosalie smiled back at her in agreement. V was probably right, she usually was. She had always been wise beyond her years. Still Rose wasn't sure if she could let it go quite yet. It's not that she _wanted_ to become bitter but she did have a right to be angry for at least a little while.

As she hugged V goodbye, she couldn't help remember the little baby growing inside her friend. Just yesterday they had been planning their kids' futures together..._Now, that will never happen..._Rosalie couldn't help but shed yet another tear for the children that wouldn't be born.

She quickly smothered those thoughts though. She wouldn't want to have kids with Royce now, not even if it meant having her kids grow up with V's. She could just be like an aunt to her friend's kids and maybe that would make up for it.

She looked out at the buildings as they whizzed by her, her mind processing everything that had happened, everything V had said, all of her thoughts. Would she really ever be able to trust a man enough to marry him?

Clearly she'd have to know him a lot better than Royce. There had been so many lies she'd never realized with him. If she was to trust a man enough that she'd marry definitely have know him better. She would have to know that he would be honest with her, about everything. But she would have to trust some, take a chance, because she could never really know he was _always_ truthful.

Reflecting on this, she took the paper out of her pocket and sighed as she contemplated what V had said, _maybe I could take a chance like V said; maybe I could try trusting him..._ No, she shook her head. The argument went on in her head for a few minutes, part of her wanting to trust, other part not wanting to get hurt.

Finally, the side of self-preservation won. She slipped the piece of paper back into her pocket. She couldn't trust him, not yet.

**Author's Note: Aww, she's not trusting him yet...Well, hopefully she will soon! Or she should at least call him! Or maybe Emmett should just be a little creeper and find her number! Anyways, tell me what you think! Like I said, I love reviews!**


	4. Stories to Tell

**Authour's Note: Hey, Everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I've been crazy busy lately... Anyways, here's chapter four, hope it's worth the wait!**

Chapter 4- Stories to tell

The hot afternoon sun beat down on Emmett's head as he ran through the park with Riley not too far behind. It had been a week and still nothing from Rosalie. She _was_ engaged so maybe she decided it would be better not to call him. Emmett still couldn't help but worry though.

Riley had been insisting the whole week that she would be calling soon. But Emmett wasn't quite so confident. It's not like she _had _to call him. He'd told her take the jacket, didn't tell her to return it, and since she has her fiancé to talk to it's not like she needs Emmett.

Even though there were all those reasons why she wouldn't call, Emmett had still been jumping everything time he heard the phone, hoping maybe it was her.

Despite all that had happened though and all the thoughts crowding his mind, training had to go on as usual. The official firefighter training started next week and he had to be prepared. He kind of wished he could take a day off though, he wished he could do something to help Rosalie.

Emmett jumped slightly as he suddenly felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Pausing from his running, he checked the caller ID but didn't recognize the number. Curious, and somewhat hopeful, he answered the phone "Hello?"

"Hi," The person sounded surprised to hear an answer. "Is this Emmett?" The voice on the other line asked nervously.

"Yeah, this is Emmett. Who's this?" He questioned, sure he knew the voice but not sure where from.

"This Rosalie, Rosalie Hale... from the other night." She said hesitantly "I found your number in the pocket of your jacket..." She faded off.

"Hey, Rosalie!" He answered with a smile, pointing out the call to Riley, with a pleased expression on his face. "I was hoping you would call! How are you doing? Better I hope?" Concern slipped into his voice as he asked.

"A bit better, yeah, I was wondering if that offer to talk was still open?" she asked still unsure.

"Of course, that's why I wrote it down!" He affirmed happily. "Do you think we could postpone it for a bit though? I'm in the middle training with Riley right now and he's getting a little impatient. "  
Emmett emphasized the last bit by saying it a little louder and giving Riley a look.

Riley rolled his eyes back at him with a smile.

"Whenever you're free is fine really." Rosalie replied, more relaxed now, a smile coming through in her voice.

"Maybe we could meet for coffee in a while and talk then?" Emmett suggested. Talking in person was always better than the phone, besides he was kind of hoping to see her again.

Rosalie agreed and they planned to meet in a couple hours at a nearby coffee shop. As Emmett hung up the phone he looked up to see a grin worthy of a Cheshire cat on Riley's face.

"See? What did I tell you?" He asked smugly as he passed Emmett a small towel to dry himself off. "It's all gonna work like just I said!"

Emmett rolled his eyes at him and threw the towel back in Riley's face. "Come on I have to finish training! Then after we're done that I think we should work on finding you a girlfriend!" He called back at Riley in fake annoyance as he ran off. "Then maybe you'd leave me alone."

* * *

Rosalie hung up the phone and sighed. She still wasn't sure why she'd called him. She was just tired of doing nothing, feeling nothing but anger and bitterness. She wanted to smile again.

The only relief she'd had this whole week were the times she visited V, but she knew she couldn't stay there all the time. V was married after all _and_ pregnant. Don't think that pregnancy thing didn't bother Rosalie all the time either.

The times she wasn't with V were spent alone. She knew her other friends wouldn't understand, all they cared about was having fun.

She needed someone who could make her smile but also understand when she just couldn't smile. That was why she'd called Emmett. She didn't know him too well but she hoped that he could be that someone.

She knew she wouldn't be meeting him for a while but she started getting ready anyways. She took her time choosing her outfit, not that she wanted to dress up too much. After all it wasn't a date, but still she wanted to look good. She took extra time with her make-up, carefully covering up the black bags under her eyes. Sleep hadn't been coming too easy for her the last few days.

By the time she had finished getting ready it was close enough that she wouldn't be too early now. She was going to get out of the house as soon as she could. She didn't exactly like spending time around her house lately.

Her mother had been constantly bothering her about getting back together with Royce. Of course Rosalie tried to get her to understand but she wouldn't listen. Rosalie eventually just gave up. Now she just tried not to be around the house too much when she knew her mom would be.

Her mother wasn't the worst of it either. Every day since he had attacked her, Royce had been sending her flowers, the usual roses and violets. In every card he asked her for forgiveness, begging her to take him back. As soon as Rosalie had seen them though she threw them out, every day she threw them out. Today's flowers hadn't gotten here yet either. She hoped they wouldn't be coming but just in case they did she was aiming to be away from the house when they arrived.

The car ride to the coffee shop seemed to speed by. Rosalie was surprised when she looked by to realize she was already there. She was nervous as she walked in. She still wasn't sure if she could trust Emmett, but she was taking a chance like V had said.

She was relieved to see that Emmett wasn't there yet. It gave her a few more minutes to prepare herself. She ordered her favourite drink and say down at a table in the far corner of the coffee shop. With her back to the wall she could clearly see if Emmett walked in. She'd rather not be caught unawares by his arrival.

It wasn't long before she saw him walking through the door. Once again she couldn't help but take a look. He looked about the same as the last time she had seen him, the beautiful blue eyes still in place, and his brown ringlets still firmly attached to his head, although this time they weren't quite so ruffled. _The only thing missing is those adorable dimples_, Rosalie thought blushing slightly at her own musings.

Of course, right at that moment Emmett decided to look over. A bright smile spread across his face showing just the dimples on that had been on Rosalie's mind.

He got his drink and then promptly came over and sat across from her. "Hey, Rosalie!" Emmett greeted her, the bright smile still on his face.

"Hi!" She couldn't help but smile back at him. Despite Rosalie's nervousness, the conversation went smoothly and, for a while, stayed safe, no mentions about anything Royce or about the attack.

"So, how does your fiancé feel about you going out for coffee with another guy?" Emmett asked casually. He had no idea what he was getting into.

Rosalie stiffened at the question and looked down at her hand. Suddenly the engagement ring seemed to be burning through her finger. She hurriedly took it off and threw it onto the table in repulsion. She hadn't realized she was still wearing that ring.

She looked up to see a perplexed look on Emmett's face. "Is something wrong?" He asked, clearly confused.

She didn't answer at first, breathing slowly, deciding what she wanted to tell him. "Royce, my fiancé ", she started out shakily, struggling especially with the word fiancé. "He was on the one who attacked me..."

Emmett sat there in almost shock for a few seconds. "I knew I should've beaten that guy up when I had a chance..." He muttered under his breath.

To Rosalie he said "Oh... I'm so sorry. He should never have done that to you. You know that right? You know it's not your fault?" Emmett asked her seriously.

Rosalie nodded, confirming she knew as she swallowed back tears.

"Are you sure?" Emmett asked again, not fully satisfied with answer.

Rosalie nodded her head again, "Yes, I know." She confirmed again as tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Good." Emmett said, squeezing her hand softly; a gentle smile on his face.

"Well, I guess that means you're not engaged anymore. That's a plus for me." A playful smile was on his lips as he tried to lighten the conversation a bit.

"Yeah, I'm not engaged anymore" she said, smiling back at him. "Although, if my mother had her way I would be." She frowned at the thought.

Gradually, the whole story came out, how she was engaged to Royce, what exactly had happened, how her mother responded. Before Rose knew it she was pouring out her heart to a near stranger.

"Wow," Rosalie said, looking at her watch. "I've been talking for a while. Sorry about that."

"No, that's okay. I like hearing you talk. Besides, it's better to talk about it, get it all out." Emmett said, now more serious.

"Do you mind if I talk for a little while though? I want tell you about a friend of mine." He asked softly.

Rosalie nodded her agreement and he started his story. "Well, it kind of starts back in middle school. That's when I met Nat. Back then she was a bit of a tomboy, liked sports better than make-up, you know. That's why we got along; she didn't exactly fit in with the other girls so well."

"Riley and I were already best friends then too. When Nat came along, she fit right in with us. The three of us became like the three musketeers. We rarely left each other's sides. It was all going great too, even into high school. Nat had changed some by then, started to like make-up and boys a little more. "

"That's how it happened. If only she had liked sports more for a little longer..." Emmett sighed, until this point he had been smiling slightly as he told the story, as of remembering the fond memories. Now he stiffened and his voice shaky as he spoke.

"One day, the three of us were all supposed to hang out. But then Nat decided to go out with this guy instead. We didn't think too much of it at the time. After all, it wasn't like either of us hadn't ditched the others for a date before."

Rosalie listened intently, sadly too, sure she knew what was coming next but hoping she was wrong.

"But then, she didn't call either of us the next day. She didn't even show up at school. We knew something had to be wrong but when we called, she didn't want to talk to us."

"It was weeks before we saw her. That's when she told us what had happened. That guy she had gone out with, who she had thought was so great, had attacked her, raped her." Emmett's hands were shaking in anger, as he breathed slowly, trying to calm down.

Rosalie felt tears of sympathy for Nat coming to her eyes. Without thinking, she put her hands over Emmett's, holding them softly.

"What happened after?" She asked quietly. "Was she okay?"

Emmett sighed and shook his head slowly. "Not at first...That's why she hadn't talked to us, why she hadn't been around. She didn't think anyone would believe or would understand so she didn't talk about. That's when she got depressed."

"Eventually, she talked to her mom about it. Once she opened up about it, she didn't feel so alone. When she knew people were there for her, it was easier. It was still hard for her, but she had people around her to help her." Emmett smiled softly; as he said it he gently moved his hands out from under hers so he was holding her hands in his.

To his surprise, she didn't flinch or move her hands away. She just sat there, as if deep in thought. After a few minutes she nodded her head decidedly. "If she can be okay, maybe I can too."

A bright smile broke out on Emmett's face. "Of course you can! I can help you too, like I did with Nat." He squeezed her hands happily.

Just then, as if she had just realized he was holding her hands, Rose slipped her hands out of his.  
"Yeah, another friend would be good." She said smiling but careful to emphasize the friend part.

Slowly, the conversation went back to lighter topics. Emmett told Rosalie about his firefighting plans, she told him about V and her coming baby.

When they'd been talking for a while, Emmett's cell phone suddenly rang. He looked down at the caller ID and shook his head slightly. "Hey, Riley!"

"Hey, Emmett! So, how's it going?" Riley asked nosily.

"Okay, but did you really have to call me to ask that? I'll be home in a little while anyways." Emmett asked slightly irritated.

"Of course I did!" Riley replied, clearly happy with himself. Besides, I wanted to tell you Edward called, wants you to call him back. Something about him coming here..."

"Ok, thanks. But you could have told me that when I got home...I've have to go now, I'll see you in a little while." Emmett said, hanging up quickly before Riley could ask more.

Emmett looked back across the table to Rosalie to see her checking her watch and starting to get up.

"Hey, wait! Are you leaving?" Emmett asked, getting up to stop her.

"Yeah, I hadn't noticed how late it had gotten. I really have to get home." Rosalie said regretfully. "I had a great time though. Thanks!"

"At least let me drive you home. You'll get home faster that way anyways." Emmett said, his eyes full of pleading.

"Not today. My mom is probably home now. I just really don't want to have to explain it all to her." Rosalie shook her head, once again regretfully.

Emmett nodded understandingly. But his ears had perked up at the "Not today". If she said that maybe she's thinking they'll see each other again.

"Alright. Can at least get your number so I can call you another time?" Emmett asked hopefully.

Rosalie seemed to be contemplating it, she wanted to but she needed to be in control for now. She shook her head. "I'll just call you to talk another time..." She decided, but still unsure. "Maybe you could introduce me to your friend Nat sometime too." She added hopefully.

Just then a car that Emmett had noticed her call for showed up. Rosalie said goodbye and quickly started to leave.

"I'm really glad you called, Rosalie." Emmett said as he walked her to the car. "I hope you'll do better, and that you'll call me soon." Emmett opened her car door for her and said goodbye with that bright smile of his back on his face.

Rosalie smiled back at him as they drove away. Once he was out of sight, she sighed. How was she supposed to keep him at arm's length when her heart kept wanting to bring Emmett closer and closer.

When he smiled, her heart melted. Every time he spoke she was drawn in. Her hands were still tingling from where he'd held them. Rosalie shook her head. _What am I going to do?_ She worried to herself.

**Authour's Note: Rosalie's starting to like him! Yes! Oh and Emmett had his own story to tell Rosalie, interesting...I wonder if Nat's ever going to show up?  
So, how'd you like the chapter or just the story so far? Review and tell me!**

**Oh! One last thing! I'm thinking of making a playlist for this story because I just love making playlists! If you have any ideas for songs, definitely send them to me! **

**Alright, that's all, don't forget to review! **


	5. Too Late

**Authour's note: Hey! Before I let you read the chapter I just wanted to say thank you once again for all the reviews! I'm almost up to thirty now, I'm so happy! **

Chapter 5- Too Late

"I can't believe it!" Emmett growled angrily as he smashed his fists into his punching bag. "I can't believe that guy was her fiancé! I knew I should've beaten him up when I had the chance!"

Although Emmett had maintained his calm while he was with Rosalie it didn't last long after. As soon as he had gotten home the whole thing had spilled out. Riley had soon got him beating up a punching bag as he vented about it.

"Yes, you should have." Riley agreed as he stepped back slightly from the punching bag he was holding for Emmett. "You should've beaten the crap out of him. Unfortunately, you have a heart and you stopped to help Rosalie instead." Riley rolled his eyes at that.

"I had the chance though. He was right there." Emmett retorted, his fists hitting the punching bag like his life depended on it.

"It doesn't matter now. What's done is done." Riley responded seriously. "If you ever see him again though, we will both beat the crap out of him." His eyes blazed with the same fury that was in Emmett's.

"At least one good thing came out of it." Emmett said, his punches slowing to a stop now. "I got to meet her." A smile crept to his face as he thought about it.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

Things were getting better, and worse.

It was better in a few ways. Rosalie was just doing better in general. She was starting to get on with her life. Not that what happened wasn't in the back of her mind every second of the day. But still in spite of all of it, she was living. It wasn't the same as before but it was good, maybe even better.

Rosalie had another friend too. Every since the first time they went out, she'd been spending a lot of time with Emmett. Emmett was always there, either for a shoulder to cry on or to put a smile on her face. He was easy to be with; it seemed almost natural for her to be with him. As they spent time together, Rosalie couldn't help but want to be with him more and more.

She had gained two new friends actually, because when she spent time with Emmett so much seeing Riley was inevitable. Not that she minded. Part of her preferred having Riley there actually, it was less likely she would get attached that way, or at least that's what she tried to tell herself.

Anyways, Riley and Emmett were pretty alike. Both of them were laid-back and fun-loving. The two of them together were always an interesting combination. They were like two brothers, always bothering each other but still always getting along. Rosalie loved watching the two of them together.

Even though firefighting training had started a week ago, they still took time to hang out with her. Sometimes she even joined them while they were training, at least when it wasn't the official training. When she wasn't with them, she was usually over at V's house.

She still had troubles with trusting. That was another thing that was in the back of her mind all the time. But most of the time she was actually with them she didn't think about it too much. In a way she didn't really want to know if they couldn't be trusted. She liked them, especially Emmett, and she didn't want to stop spending time with them. She was happy when she was with them. So, things were getting better, she was doing better.

But even as things got better, they were also getting worse. Royce was becoming more and more persistent. Not only was he sending flowers, he was calling her all the time; she'd had to get his number blocked. He'd even shown up at the house once. Fortunately, Rosalie was out so she didn't have to deal with him. But she knew seeing him again was unavoidable.

As Royce got more persistent so did her mother. Whenever they were together, they were always arguing. Rose hated it. She'd always been so close to her mom. She didn't want to fight with her. But she couldn't do what her mother wanted. If only she would understand, if only she'd really listen.

Sometimes she felt like she was becoming two people. One was happy and was getting on with her life. She was usually around when she was out with her friends. That was the person Rosalie wanted to be. But then there was the other person who usually popped up when she was dealing Royce, sometimes even when she was arguing with her mom. She was angry and bitter. She wasn't moving on at all, she was holding onto it all. It was like what V had said; the happiness was slowly being drained out her life. That person was just full of hate. Rosalie greatest fear was that that person would take over.

That's why she was going out, once again. She hoped that by staying away from the things that upset her, she could avoid that part of her. Once she was out, she could forget the fight she'd just had with her mother and flowers she'd just had to throw out.

Emmett would be picking her up in a few minutes. They were going to pick up Riley at work and then go over to V's for dinner. It was the first time they were meeting her and Rosalie was both nervous and excited about it at the same time.

She paced outside the gate, waiting for Emmett to arrive. Soon enough, she saw his car speeding towards her house. She felt a smile coming to her face as she saw him, the bitterness leaving her at least for now. He promptly stopped the car and got out to greet her.

"Hey, Rose! How it's going?" He smiled at her as he walked her to her door and opened it for her. Her heart melted yet again at his smile. _No_, she scolded herself, _He's just a friend._

"I'm doing alright, how about you?" She asked, smiling back up at him. She wasn't lying, she was doing alright _now_.

"Great, now that I'm with you." He winked flirtatiously, his eyes sparkling happily. "You look great by the way." He added, nodding towards her outfit.

"Thanks." She said softly, trying to ignore the fluttering she felt in her heart. They really didn't help her "just friends" plan but she couldn't help it. It was strange, she had gotten so used to compliments before, as much as she loved them, they never really meant too much. But here she was, all in a flutter from one little compliment.

"So," she said trying to change the subject, "Where are we picking up Riley?" She fiddled with the radio station, avoiding his eyes.

"Some fancy restaurant not too far from here." Emmett answered casually. "You might recognize it actually."

Rosalie nodded and looked out the window, listening to the music playing quietly in the background.

Suddenly, the music got louder and Rosalie looked over to see why. Emmett had a big smile on his face and his eyes were dancing. Actually, he was dancing too, not very well but you have to give him credit for trying.

Rosalie watched him with amusement. "Come on! You have to like this song!" Emmett called out over the music.

She shook her head, "No, not really." She said, laughing.

"No, I'm sure you do." Emmett insisted. "You just have to get into it, let yourself like it, then you'll realize how much you really do like it."

Rosalie protested at first but soon enough, he had her joining in dancing and singing along. As the song ended she was still laughing, her dancing eyes now matching his. "See?" Emmett said as he turned the radio back down. "I knew you liked it."

Another giggle escaped her lips as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "Yeah, you were right."

"Of course I was!" He said, clearly pleased. "I like your laugh by the way. I don't hear it very much."

"Thanks," She replied, blushing slightly. "I guess I don't laugh too often." She added, a little more somberly.

"You should, you have a beautiful laugh." He said, looking at her intently into her eyes. She felt herself melting under his gaze. His deep blue eyes seemed to see right through her.

"Oh," Emmett exclaimed, as he looked up suddenly, apparently remembering he was driving. "Here it is." Emmett pointed out as he started to drive up into a parking lot. Rosalie looked up to where he was pointing and felt like the breath had been knocked out of her.

Emmett was right, she did recognize the restaurant. She used to go there all the time with Royce, (She felt herself cringing at the thought of his name), it was the place they had gone for breakfast on the day he had attacked her.

_Come on, calm down, _She told herself. _It's not like he's going to show up here or something. It's no big deal. Emmett will get Riley and we'll leave. No Royce._

Emmett looked over at her and noticed her expression. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

Mutely, she nodded. Rosalie swallowed and, regaining her voice, continued. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just…recognize the restaurant. I used to come here a lot, with Royce." She added quietly.

He stopped and put his hand on hers. "Are you okay? Do you want to leave? I could just get Riley to meet us somewhere else…" He said, concerned.

"No, no," She said hurriedly, shooing him out of the car. "I'll be fine for a few minutes, go!"

She watched him walk away and really did think she'd be okay for a few minutes. When he wasn't coming back soon though, the determination she'd had before starting fading. She got out of the car and started pacing. Suddenly she saw someone coming from the restaurant and looked over, hoping it was Emmett and Riley. Or either one of them.

But no, it wasn't them. She did recognize the person walking towards her though, _unfortunately, _she added to herself.

He was dressed impeccably as usual. His light blonde hair styled perfectly and a charming smile plastered across his face. But now she knew it wasn't real, that charming smile didn't reach his pale blue eyes, it was all an act.

"Hi, Rose! I haven't seen you in a while." The familiar, and once charming, voice said.

"Yeah, that was kind of on purpose, Royce." Rosalie replied bitterly.

"I've been wanting to talk to you." Royce said, moving closer to her.

"I don't want to talk to you. Your words mean nothing to me. I already know what you want; you made it clear to me already." She replied, letting the acid seep into her voice as she backed away from him.

"Come on, Darling," Royce put his hands on her shoulders to stop her. "I'm sorry, I really am. But we're great together. I don't give up on us yet. We'll be great. Just come back to me." He pleaded.

Rosalie felt conflicting emotions at his words. Part of her hated him, and knew that his words really mean nothing anyways. This was the part she was afraid would take over.

But another part of her, a part she had been ignoring for a while, wanted to take him back, wanted to believe that he really did love her. It would be easy that way, if he really loved her, everything would work out just like she had always imagined it. Because of this, for a moment, just the slightest of moments, she actually considered taking him back.

But she knew it couldn't work out, he didn't love her, he never had. She was right to hate him. She backed away from him again and tore his hands off of her.

"Keep your hands off of me! I don't care about your apology; it came just a little too late." She spat out at him. "Get away from me. I never want to see you, or hear from you, ever again." Her voice rising slightly as she said it.

He flinched back, taken aback by her outburst. Clearly he hadn't been expecting it. It didn't take him long to recover though.

"You know you don't mean that, Rose." He said, moving closer but slower this time. "We're meant to be together, we're perfect for each other. Our life together would be perfect." His words came out smoothly, pulling at the heartstrings of Rosalie's dreams.

She was ready this time though; she wasn't going to fall for his lies again.

"You don't get it, do you Royce?" She moved slowly closer to him, her eyes filled with contempt. "I _hate_ you. I _never_ want to see you again or even hear your name. I wish you were dead." Disdain saturated her every word.

"But," She paused, her face only a few inches from his. "I'm going to give you a chance. See, a couple of my friends are going to be coming out of that restaurant soon. They wouldn't be too happy to see you here. So, I'm going to give you a chance to leave before they show up."

"Not because I care the least bit about your well-being. I don't care at all. They could kill you for all I care. My only problem is I don't think you are even worth their effort. So if you value your own life at all, I would leave…_now."_

He hesitated for a second, not sure if she was serious. But seeing the look in her eyes, he slowly backed away. Quickly, his backing away turned into a sprint. She watched with a smile of satisfaction as he sped away.

As soon as he was out of sight, she collapsed against the side of the car, her hands shaking in anger. As much as she was happy with what she had done, she was still completely drained by it. The anger, the hate, the bitterness, really did suck the life out of her.

_Hopefully,_ she thought to herself, _I'll never have to do something like that again. Hopefully, that part of me can stay buried for a while._

She sighed and looked up at the restaurant to see Emmett and Riley walking out. For the first time she noticed the sharp contrast between them and Royce. Although they were dressed up a bit more than usual, and they did look great, their clothes were still much more relaxed than Royce's. Royce was always dressed as if he was going to a funeral while Emmett's normal outfits consisted of sweatpants and a t-shirt. It wasn't just their clothes either. Everything about Royce had always seemed perfect, now Rosalie saw it all as fake compared to authenticity of Emmett and Riley.

She was once again grateful for having met them. Not only had Emmett saved her from Royce that first time, but just being her friend had saved countless other times. Her life would most definitely not be the same without them.

"Hey, Rose. Are you there? Is everything okay?" Riley asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Huh?" She shook herself out of her thoughts. "Oh yeah, sorry I was just thinking…" She faded off.

"Oh really? What about?" Emmett asked curiously as he moved to get into the car.

"Oh, nothing…" She started out quietly. "I was just thinking it's completely unfair."

"What is?" They both looked over at her worriedly.

"It's completely unfair of me to steal two of Rochester's greatest and best-looking guys away from the rest of the girls." She said looking at the two of them with a smile, her gaze resting on Emmett for a moment.

Riley noticed that moment's look and pleased smile crept onto his face. Emmett saw Riley's smile and glared back at him momentarily.

Turning back to Rosalie, he said, "I'm not so sure you're _stealing_ us." His lips turned up into a teasing smile. "It's more like we're stealing you from the millions of guys who would love to be with you."

Rosalie smiled back faintly as she got into the car. She was content. It was an odd feeling for her. She'd always thought she needed _something_ to be happy but maybe she was wrong, maybe she needed _somebod_y.

**Authour's Note: Yes! Go Rosalie! Royce is GONE! *Does a little happy dance*  
Rosalie's liking Emmett too!  
Oh oh! More happy stuff! I posted the playlist on my profile, it's kind of short right now but you should definitely check it out! The song which kind of inspired this chapter, Apologize by One Republic, is on there, along with a few other amazing songs. You should definitely check it out!  
AND I added pictures for Emmett, Rosalie, Riley and V to my profile so go look at those too!  
Before you go though don't forget to review!**


	6. Take a Chance

Chapter 6- Take a Chance

Rosalie smiled contentedly. _Everything's going great. _After some initial awkwardness, everyone got along great. V and Matthew were very welcoming and of course Emmett and Riley are both easy to get along with. Soon enough, they were all talking like old friends.

Dinner had been great too; V had really out done herself. She clearly put a lot of time and effort into. Rosalie was happy about that, it showed that V knew it was important to her. Now they were just finishing up dessert. Actually, most of them had been done for a while, it was just Rose left eating.

She watched the conversations going on around the table as she slowly finished up her dessert. Riley and Matthew were in the middle of an animated discussion about some football team she didn't know, or at least she thought it was football... Emmett had just taken a break from that debate to compliment V on the meal.

After Emmett concluded his conversation with V, he turned and gave Rosalie one of those heart-melting smiles and she couldn't help but smile back. As she did, she noticed V looking at the two of them oddly. She quickly turned away, hoping V had read too much into that smile. V had always been fairly perceptive though and Rose was sure V would be interrogating her about it later.

Unfortunately, that interrogation would be coming sooner then she had hoped. Just a few minutes later, the guys left to watch some game on TV. Rose was sure no sports played in the summer but she didn't argue.

As the guys were leaving, Matthew walked over to V and kissed her on the cheek. Once again, the sweetness of it amazed Rosalie. It was something she'd never experienced with Royce. She just hoped that if she ever found another guy (that she could actually trust), he would kiss her like that, that he would love her like that. Part of her hoped that maybe Emmett would be that guy.

Quickly, Rosalie shook herself out of her thoughts. Deciding she didn't want to deal with the interrogation just yet she purposely put the focus on V. "So, how are you doing?" She asked as she joined V in picking up dishes off the table.

V saw clearly through her ploy but decided to ignore it. "I'm doing pretty good. I'm going in for an ultrasound soon and I'll get to see the baby!"

"Wow, that's great!" Rosalie said with a smile, swallowing back the bitterness she felt. She was happy for V, she really was. But part of her felt almost angry with V for having a baby when she wasn't. It just didn't fair or right. In spite of how she felt she was going to be happy for V, she wasn't going to ruin it for her.

"How many months are you in now?" She asked.

"Three months. We don't know if it's a boy or girl yet. We've almost decided on names though." V answered, smiling back happily.

"Really? What do you have so far?" Rose asked.

"Well, we're thinking if it's a boy we'll name it Henry after Matthew's dad and if it's a girl we'll name it Abigail after my mom." V said, her eyes shining with pleasure.

Rosalie was silent for moment, her mind straying involuntarily to the names she would have been choosing for her own baby in a few months time. Once again she felt herself fighting against the bitterness and anger rising up in her.

"Those are...good names." Rosalie said, struggling with each word.

V nodded and, seeing that Rosalie was uncomfortable talking about it, decided to change the subject.

"So," V said, "He seems nice." Her tone clearly showing what she was getting at.

"Yeah, they both are. They're really great guys." Rosalie answered sincerely, but careful to emphasize _both._

V nodded, indicating for Rosalie to continue.

"I'm really glad to have them as friends." Rosalie added.

"Just as friends? Nothing more?" V persisted.

"Of course just friends. What else would they be?" Rosalie asked, feigning innocence.

"Come on, Rosie, I'm not blind. I see the way you two look at each other. You _like_ him." V said, clearly pleased.

"Now I'm confused, who are you talking about? Because you do know I brought two guys with me..." Rosalie asked trying to act clueless but her eyes betraying her.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," V said, slightly exasperated. "You like Emmett. By the way he looks at you, I'm pretty sure he feels the same way about you." She looked intently at Rosalie as she said it.

"Yes, yes, I know..." Rose said quietly, finally giving in.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" V asked, softening her tone.

"Nothing. I'm not going to do anything about it. I told you before V, I just can't trust guys. Emmett seems great now but I thought the same thing about Royce." Rosalie said, resolved.

V shook her head slowly. "I know how you feel but you can't ignore Emmett just because of Royce. From what I've seen and heard of Emmett, he is nothing at all like Royce."

"Yeah, I know but I'm still not ready. Maybe, just maybe, after I get to know him better, but for now we're staying friends." Rosalie, trying to stay determined.

"You really like him though, don't you?" V put her hand on Rosalie's shoulder gently.

"Yeah, I do." Rosalie nodded "That's the problem. I want to be with him but I just can't." Hopelessness slipped into her words as she spoke.

V turned to face her directly. After a moment she said, "I know you say you're not ready but the fact is you are the only thing stopping the two of from being together. I'm sure if he hasn't done anything it's because he's waiting for you to be ready. "

"But that's not just it. What if I do trust him, what if I actually go out with him, but then he's not enough. Everything I've ever wanted for my life has been things, a big house, nice clothes, a rich boyfriend to give me these things. Emmett isn't rich. I hate to sound superficial but it's all I've ever known, all I've ever wanted... I just don't know. Could I really be happy without all that?" Rosalie shook her head, unconvinced.

V smiled knowingly. "I know what you mean. Remember, I grew up just like you. I'd always thought that having things was what would make me happy. But then I met Matthew and I started to realize that happiness is more than that. Happiness is about being with people I love rather than having things." She said, her eyes shining.

"Just remember, Rosie, don't push him away just because you are afraid, just because you're not sure. He could be the one and you may never know...I don't want you to miss out on something amazing because you don't take a chance."

Rosalie smiled, "I know you're probably right, you usually are. Maybe I'll try and see, but I can't promise anything." She said uncertainly. "You know me; I can be a pretty stubborn person. Once I'm determined I usually stick with it."

V nodded. "Now you just have to decide what's more important to you."

Before Rose had a chance to respond, Emmett walked in. He looked at the two of them, unsure whether he had walked in at a bad time.

"Hey, Rose." He said turning to her. "The game finished faster than we'd expected so I was wondering if you wanted to go now."

"Uh, yeah sure, just give me a couple minutes..." She answered, slightly flustered by Emmett's sudden appearance.

"Alright, I'll be waiting whenever you're ready." He said smiling as he left the room.

Rosalie watched him walk away; trying to figure out if she had just imagined a double meaning in his words.

"I guess you have to go then." V said getting up. A smug little smile was on her lips as she saw Rose's gaze after Emmett.

"Yeah, I guess so." Rosalie said, turning back to V slowly. She picked up her purse as she also got up.

She then quickly followed V to the front room where the guys were waiting.

Emmett and Riley were both saying their goodbyes and thanking V for the "amazing dinner". Rose smiled as she watched; glad once again that everything had worked out so well.

After the guys were done saying goodbye, she turned to V and gave her a big hug. "Thanks, V, for everything."

V hugged her back tightly. "No problem, Rosie, anytime." Glancing over at Emmett, in a whisper she added, "Don't forget what I said."

"I won't." Rosalie replied as she slipped her arms off of V. "Goodbye!"

The ride home was quiet, Emmett and Riley discussed the game they had as Rosalie sat in silence, before she knew it they were pulling up in front of her house.

The whole time V's words had kept replaying through her mind. _"Don't push him away just because you are afraid... He could be the one and you may never know..."  
_  
She didn't know what to think. At least she didn't have to make a decision yet, after all Emmett hadn't asked her out or anything. She was happy to have him as a friend but considering any more than that just left her confused and unsure.

"Hey, Rose, are you going to get out any time soon?" Emmett asked in a teasing voice. Without her realizing it he had already gotten out of the car and come over to open her door. He held his hand to help her out.

"Oh, sorry." Rose said blushing slightly as she took his offered hand and stepped out of the car.

She said goodbye to both of them. Then she started to walk to her house. To her surprise, instead of getting back into the car Emmett started walking with her, her hand still in his.

She looked at him inquiringly. "What are you doing?"

"Walking with you." He said simply, his lips turning up into a little smile, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Is there any particular reason you are walking with me?" She asked, slipping her hand out of his as she did.

"Maybe I just wanted to have a few more minutes with you." Emmett said; a charismatic smile on his face.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something." His tone suddenly became more serious.

"And what's that?" She asked casually; inwardly hoping it wasn't what she thought it was but at the same time hoping it was.

"I was wondering are you doing anything this Saturday...?" He asked uncertainly.

"Why?" She asked. "Are you guys doing something?"

"No... Not exactly. I was thinking, maybe _we_ – he pointed to the two of them– could go out, like on a date." Emmett said hopefully.

"Oh" was Rosalie's reply. She had been expecting this but she still didn't know what to say.

"But," he quickly added, "If you don't want to that's okay."

"Well, I'm not sure. Maybe... I don't know...I'll let you know." Rosalie answered, still undecided. A fight was going on in her mind, neither side willing to give in. She wanted to say yes but she just didn't want to get hurt again. How could she be sure of that?

Rosalie's indecision didn't deter Emmett one bit though. His blue eyes lit up and he smiled brightly. "Okay, sounds good. I'll see you soon!"

It wasn't until then that Rosalie realized they gotten to her door. She hesitated, not really wanting to go in. "Yeah, see you soon!" She smiled back.

Then turning back to her door, she sighed inwardly as she walked in. It was all quiet when she got in; she started to smile to herself thinking maybe she could avoid her mother again. But then she heard her mother's voice calling across the house and cringed.

"Rosalie Lillian Hale! Get in here right now!"

**Authour's Note: Wow, Emmett asked Rosalie out, and she didn't say no! But what does her mom want? Hmm..  
Oh, I have a picture for Royce up on my profile now! So go check that out right after you review! :)**


	7. One Night

Chapter 7- One Night

"So," Riley looked up expectantly from the front seat as Emmett got in. "What did she say?" His face was hopeful as he asked.

Emmett rolled his eyes at him. "Have I ever told you that you really need to get a life?"

"Yes, yes, I know. I am way too interested in you and Rosalie and I really need to find my own girlfriend or get a hobby like knitting or something." Riley rolled his eyes back at Emmett. "I've heard it all before. What I haven't heard yet is what Rosalie said when you asked her out."

Emmett shook his head, smiling slightly at Riley's persistence. "She said she's going to let me know."

"Hmm...Well I was hoping for straight out yes but at least she didn't say no." Riley said thoughtfully as he analyzed the situation. "That's alright though, I'm sure she'll be calling you to yes soon enough."

* * *

Rosalie inwardly cringed as she walked toward her mother's voice. _What does she want? _Rosalie wondered to herself. _Had she seen Emmett or is this about Royce again?_

"Rosalie!" Her mother's voice pierced through her thoughts. Rose hurried. Whatever this is about she was going to get it over with fast.

When she got into the living room, she saw her mother pacing back and forth franticly. Her father was sitting in a chair not too far away, his calm expression a polar opposite of her mother.

"Where have you been?" Rose's mother asked; a frenzied look in her eyes. She had stopped her pacing to look at Rosalie.

"I told you I was going over to V's for dinner." Rose said, trying to stay calm, her mother was obviously upset enough. This was no time to start a fight.

"Who drove you home then?" Her mother asked, almost accusingly, her voice sharper now.

"A friend" Rosalie said curtly. She felt herself growing more and more agitated. _Couldn't she just get to the point and let me leave? _Rose thought angrily. She'd already had to deal with Royce today; she really didn't want to deal with her mother.

"How could you Rose?" Her mother cried out in dismay.

Rosalie stood there perplexed at the sudden change in her mother's mood.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in confusion, and slight annoyance.

"How could you do that to Royce?" Her mother exclaimed. Before Rosalie had a chance to respond, her mother continued ranting on.

"He sends you flowers, he apologizes, but then you just spit in his face. How could you? After all you've been through. After the way you loved each other. You two would've been perfect together, your lives would have been perfect. You just had to go and do that."

Rosalie looked at her mother, her mouth hanging open for a moment. She had heard most of this already but to be treated like she was the one to blame, like it was all her fault, that was too much.

"Yes, mother." Her words came out like venom. "I did have to go and do that. You know why I had to do it? Because he had to invite me out to meet him and his friends when they were drunk just so he could attack me and rape me." At that her father's composed expression changed to one of disbelief and anger but he remained silent. "Luckily, Emmett stopped him before he got too far. Who knows what could have happened if he hadn't.

"Now, Rose dear, it couldn't have been that bad. I'm sure you're just imagining it to be worse than it really was." Her mother said

"Yes, it was that bad. The bruises have only just healed. And now after all he did, Royce expects me to take him back like nothing happened. That is something I cannot do."

Her mother's expression softened and her words came out more gently and slowly, like she was talking to child. "Sometimes, dear, you have to overlook the people you love's faults. That's what love is about, accepting people in spite of their failings."

Rosalie shook her head resolutely. "That's a bunch of crap. You don't marry a guy who tried to rape you! That's just ridiculous."

"You _have_ to marry him." Her mother said, the words coming almost hysterically. "I had it all planned out. Everything was going to be great. You can't just not marry him."

"Yes, I can." Rose said stubbornly. "I would never marry him now."

"If you don't, I'll...I'll...I'll disown you." Her mother cried out in desperation.

Rosalie's eyes widened in shock and horror but she quickly shook it off. "Fine, then I'll just leave. There's no reason for me to stay here anyways. Clearly you care more about having Royce as a son-in-law than having me as a daughter." She turned around and fled for the door.

Her parents both called after her to come back but she didn't stop until she was outside. The last thing she heard as she flew through the door was her father's voice speaking softly to her mother.

By that time tears were streaming down her face. _How could she do that? Do I mean nothing to her?_ _And what about dad? He just sat there quietly as she went on._ The sobs tore through her body as she leaned up against the door. Feelings of abandonment and betrayal flooded over her.

After what seemed like hours, Rose wiped the tears from quickly from her eyes. She wasn't going to let her mother get the better of her. She wasn't going to give in.

She wouldn't go back. She find somewhere else to stay, at least until her mother changed her mind. Her mother was a pretty stubborn person though, that's probably where Rosalie had gotten it from. She might never change her mind. Rose may just have to get her own place to live.

V had offered to let her stay at her place before maybe she could call and see if the offer was still open. She sat down on the front step of her house where she'd been standing for the past while. She gradually started dialing V's number on her cell phone, glad that she's remembered to grab her purse on the way out.

She heard the phone ring a few times and then it went to the answering machine. Rosalie sighed; they must have gone to bed already. What was she supposed to do now? V was her only plan.

She flicked through the list of contacts in her cell phone, hoping to find someone she could ask for help. Most of them would be no help. They were all either friends or relatives who had all sided with her mother when she'd broke it off with Royce.

That's when she got to Emmett's number. She sat there for a few minutes, contemplating whether she should call him or not. After all, she'd only known him for a few weeks. Asking him for a place to stay might be a bit much. Plus, she wasn't sure how she felt about staying in an apartment with two guys.

_Maybe it would be alright for just one night_, she rationalized. After all, she could just talk to V the next day. One night would be okay. She nodded her head decisively as she pressed the call button.

It only rang once before she heard Emmett's voice on the line. "Hey, Rose! It's a little late for you to be calling. Is everything okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Umm, not exactly. I had a fight with my mom actually. I was kind of looking for a place to stay for the night... Just until it cools down a bit." She carefully left out the whole disowning part.

"Oh" He said in surprise but recovering quickly he continued. "Sure, of course, I could be there in a few minutes to pick you up if you need me."

Rosalie sighed in relief. "That would be great! Thanks so much." She smiled gratefully.

* * *

"Come on, we have to get ready." Emmett said hurriedly. He ripped the sheet and blanket off his bed and threw them to Riley.

Riley recoiled back as the blanket hit him, knocking him back slightly. "Don't worry, I'll get everything ready." He assured Emmett. "You just go get her. You wouldn't want to keep her waiting." He added, a smug smile on his face.

"Alright, just make sure you put all my stuff on the couch and set up my bed for Rose. Try to clean up a bit while you're at it." Emmett said glancing around the room critically.

"Okay, okay. Just go, it will all be fine." He shooed Emmett out, smirking slightly.

Emmett rushed out to the car, deep in thought. He'd always known Rosalie was having problems with her mother. She'd tried to downplay it but he could always tell. It must have been pretty bad this time though. She probably wouldn't leave home if it wasn't.

What could it have been about though? Was her mom bothering her about that fiancé again? Or could it be about him? Maybe her mother had seen them together got upset at Rosalie. Nothing had happened though, he'd held her hand but not for very long. Unless she just didn't approve of Rosalie hanging out with him.

With a million thoughts running through his head the drive seemed to take no time at all. Before he knew it he was pulling up in front of Rose's house. He quickly shook all the worries out of his mind, she was probably upset enough. She needed a smile not his worries.

He looked over and saw she was sitting on the front step waiting for him. He got out of the car to meet her as she walked up.

"Hey, Rose!" Emmett said wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "How are you doing?" He looked down at her in concern.

"I'm doing okay now. Thanks for coming." She smiled gratefully at him.

"Anytime." He flashed a grin at her as he led to her door.

As he opened the car door for her, he looked down and noticed her empty hands. "No bag?" He inquired.

"Just my purse, I kind of left in a hurry," Rosalie replied. "I didn't really have a chance to grab anything. I can always come back tomorrow when my mom's out though."

"She might even be over it by then, she doesn't usually stay mad long." She added optimistically. Silently she added to herself, _of course she she's never been that mad before._

Emmett nodded, seeming to believe her.

They drove in silence the whole way. Both were deep in thought. Even though they both put on happy faces their minds were both full of worry.

Emmett had no idea what was going on with Rose. As much as she tried to act like it was no big deal he could tell she was pretty upset about it.

Rosalie couldn't get her mother's threat of disownment out of her mind. She knew her mother was prone to dramatics but she'd never been this upset before. What if she was serious and she did disown Rose for not marrying Royce? All Rosalie's life, her parents had been providing for her. She didn't have any way to support herself. What would she do?

She knew V would probably let her stay at her place for a while but she couldn't just live there. She'd eventually have to find her own place and get a job to provide for herself. The only problem with that was Rosalie had never had a job in her life, she'd never had to.

As she was going through all her options in her mind, she suddenly realized the car had stopped.

"Well, we're here." Emmett said with a smile. Rosalie looked around and saw they were in the parking lot of a small apartment building. She smiled back and started to get out before Emmett had a chance to get to her door.

He led her into the building and she started to walk towards the elevator. "I wouldn't use that if I were you." Emmett said putting his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "That thing usually breaks down every few days and it hasn't happened yet this week. You wouldn't want to tempt fate." He smiled charmingly at her.

"Okay, maybe we can just take the stairs then." Rosalie nodded in agreement. "Which way are the stairs?" She looked around uncertainly.

Emmett smiled, "Come on, I'll show you." He put his hand on the small of her back to lead her.

They got to the apartment fairly quickly since it was only on the second floor. Emmett opened the door and swung his arm out dramatically. "Welcome to our home!"

Rosalie looked around and smiled. It was a modest apartment, nothing too expensive, but it felt like a home. It was comfortable, relaxed, just like them. There were pictures all over the walls of what Rosalie guessed to be friends and family. To her surprise, it was pretty clean too.

"I like it!" She said in satisfaction. "It matches you." She smiled at Emmett and Riley, who had walked into the room when she arrived.

"Thanks." They replied almost in unison, smiling back at her.

"I'm sure you're tired though, it's pretty late. I'll show you your bed." Emmett said leading her to his room.

As he did she couldn't help but noticed the blankets and pillows set up on the couch. "Aren't I just sleeping on the couch?" She asked glancing back at it in confusion.

"Oh, no." Emmett said, shaking his head slowly, slightly embarrassed at her noticing. "I'm sleeping on the couch tonight."

"I could just sleep on the couch. I don't want to kick you out of your bed..." Rosalie told him hesitantly.

"No, really, sleeping on the couch for one night is no big deal." Emmett insisted, the tone of his voice ending the discussion.

She nodded and continued to follow him. "Here you go." He opened the door to the room and showed her in. "Well, I'll just let you go to bed." He said backing out of the room.

"Wait" She walked back to him. "Thanks." She said softly. She kissed him on the cheek her lips lingering there for just a moment, then swiftly turned around and walked back into the room.

"Oh, and one more thing." She said just as he was walking out. "I would love to go out with you on Saturday."

**Authour's Note (Warning this could be a long one!): Yes! She said yes! Emmett and Rosalie are finally going to go out! But what's going to happen with her mom? Is she really going to disown her?**  
**Review and tell me what you think!  
Now, for the long stuff: I added a couple new songs to the playlist I think they match pretty well so you should definitely go check it out!**

**Last thing, I've been thinking about getting a beta... Basically my requirements are you **_**really**_** like this story, and you have to be good at spelling and grammar and such. If you've been a beta before that's great but that's not required. So, if any of you are interested let me know! **


	8. Second Chance

**Authour's Note: Hey, Everyone! I know it's been forever since I posted a new chapter, sorry! **

Chapter 8- Second Chance

Rosalie woke up slightly disoriented and confused. Where was she? Whose bed was she in? What was she doing here? It didn't take her long to remember what had happened the night before though. It came rushing back to her: the fight with her mother, her almost disownment, trying to call V, finally calling Emmett and landing up here.

Then there was the kissing Emmett on cheek thing and agreeing to go out with him. Rose still wasn't sure why she'd done that. It had just felt right at the time so she did it. She wasn't quite so sure about it now though. She couldn't just cancel though, not after the way Emmett's face had lit up when she'd said yes, besides part of her, a very big part, wanted to go. She'd just go out with him once; it didn't have to be anything more than one date anyways.

After laying there for a while thinking about it, she rolled over and looked at the clock, _ten thirty. Wow, I should really be getting up,_ Rosalie thought groggily to herself. She sat up in bed and ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to make herself at least somewhat presentable. After all she didn't know if Emmett and Riley would be out there.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, Rose walked to the door and slowly opened it, peeking out to see if anyone was out there. It was empty. She walked out and looked around. On a small table near the door there was a note for her.

_Hey, Rose!  
We had to leave early for training and didn't want to wake you up. Make yourself at home. There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry. Here's the spare key for whenever you leave…unless of course you don't want to leave 'cause you know that would be fine too._

_Emmett_

Rosalie smiled to herself as she put the note down. That was why she liked Emmett, why she wanted to go out with him. He made her smile, and he wasn't afraid to show how he felt.

She walked to the kitchen and looked around for something to eat. She wasn't exactly used to it, having to get her own food. Normally, someone would make food for her; she didn't really have to think about it.

Luckily, they had put labels on all the cupboards telling her what was in it. It looked like they'd had a lot of fun with it too. There were post-it notes all over them saying things like "eat this, you'll like it", "don't touch these, you won't like them trust me" and "no go eat it, he just wants the food for himself".

She laughed softly to herself as she finally decided on cereal. They were quite a pair, Emmett and Riley. It's not surprising they were best friends.

Her breakfast was finished quickly and just as she was getting up she heard her phone ringing in the other room. She ran for it but by the time she'd dug it out of her purse it had stopped ringing. Rose opened the phone and it checked the calls. She'd missed five, one from V, one from Emmett and three from her dad including that last one.

She felt herself tense up as she saw her dad's number. Why would he be calling? Did he want to yell at her some more? Or just sit in silence as her mom did like he had last night.

In spite of herself she listened to his message on the machine. "Hi, Rose. I know I'm probably one of the last people you want to talk to, in fact you might not even listen to this message, but I really need to talk to you. Call me back when you have the chance."

Rosalie hesitated for a second, almost pressing the call button but then she stopped herself. Her mind went back to last night, her mother's yells, and her father's non-action, his calm expression, like none of it really mattered.

She threw the phone back down on the bed in frustration. She just didn't get it, how could he do that and then just call her?

She paced around the room in frustration for a few minutes. Then looking down at the phone laying on the bed, she remembered where she was, and why she was there. It was just supposed to be for the night, she should be calling V.

But she didn't want to just yet. Maybe she'd just watch TV or something for a while. She had all day to call V. Besides this apartment was comfortable, it felt like home, she kind of liked that feeling.

* * *

"Rosie, are you ever going to answer all your dad's messages?" V asked for what seemed to Rose like the millionth time. "I know it's horrible what he did and everything but he seems really sorry and he really wants to talk to you."

Rosalie shook her head stubbornly. "I don't care what he has to say, he said enough the last time I saw him." She responded, her thoughts going back to the argument she'd had with her parents a few days ago.

That was the last time she had seen her parents. The next day she had went home and got her stuff but had been very careful to go at a time when neither of them would be home. She'd been staying at V's place for the past three days.

After she'd finally called V and explained what had happened, her friend had promptly insisted that Rosalie stay at her place, at least until things cooled down. She's went home right away to get her clothes and a few necessities then quickly went over to V's but not before leaving a note of thanks at the guys' apartment.

She didn't want to think about her mom or her dad. She didn't want to talk to him, even if he was sorry. She didn't want to forgive him. She just couldn't be sure that he wouldn't let her down again.

But at the same time part of her wanted to talk to her dad, to forgive him, to know she had him on her side. But that wasn't strong enough to make her call her dad back. Maybe she would eventually but not now.

"So," V decided to let it go and move on to another subject. "Are you excited about tonight?" An almost giddy smile came to her face.

Rosalie felt herself relax just thinking about it. A bright smile lit up her face. Today was Saturday, tonight was Rosalie's date with Emmett. That's all Rose wanted focus on. Although she was unsure and nervous about it, she still was excited about it. It was something good and normal, separate from all the other drama in her life.

"Yeah, kind of." Rosalie said, suppressing her excitement slightly, or at least trying to. V saw it all though and gave her a look. "Okay, so maybe more than kind of." Rosalie admitted, her voice going up a couple octaves as she let her excitement spill out.

"Did he tell you where he's taking you yet?" V asked joining in on Rose's excitement. She loved seeing her friend so happy.

"No, not yet." Rosalie said, shaking her head. "He just told me to wear something casual…" She faded off into her thoughts.

"Hmm, I wonder what that could mean..." V said thoughtfully. Soon they were both making guesses at where Emmett could be bringing her. As time went on they became more and more ridiculous. But then Rosalie suddenly realized the time it was ran up to get ready as V went to get dinner ready for Matthew.

"Rose!" V's voice called from downstairs. She looked at the clock in surprise. _Only 5:30, hmm, Emmett must be early. It's a good thing I got ready quickly._

She grabbed her purse and hurried down the stairs. "You're early." She said without looking up as she got into the front hall. "I didn't expect you for another half hour."

"Sorry," said a voice that was most definitely not Emmett's. Rosalie whipped her head up in surprise. Her father was standing calmly in front of her.

She whirled around at V. "How could you let him in here?" She asked angrily. "I told you all that happened didn't I? You know exactly how I feel about him."

"I know Rosie," V said soothingly, "but also heard what he had to say and I really think you should give him a chance."

"I don't think so. I've heard enough." Rosalie turned around abruptly and headed up the stairs.

"Please, Rose, please just let me explain." Her father voice cracked with emotion as he spoke in an almost whisper. She turned around to look at him, his eyes pleading with her.

She sighed and walked back down. "Fine, I'll listen but that doesn't mean anything." She said, still stubborn.

V led them to the living room and left so they could talk. Rosalie sat down huffily. A few feet away her dad paced nervously as he worked out what he was going to say.

"First, I want to say I'm sorry, so sorry. For everything, for letting your mother yell at you like that, for what happened to you, for not paying enough attention to know what was going on with you, for not seeing the kind of guy Royce was before that happened. I'm so, so sorry." The pain and regret was clearly evident in his voice as tears welled up in his eyes.

Rosalie stayed silent, either not quite sure what to say or just letting him go on. "I know I don't deserve it but could you please forgive me. Could you give me another chance?" He asked desperately, his eyes hopeful.

"I-I don't know." Rosalie stumbled over her words. She wasn't sure what to do. She'd never seen her father like this before. He was always calm and in control. But now it was different. He was begging her with tears in her eyes. She was sure he was sincere, that he was really sorry.

"I'll do whatever it takes for you to trust me again, Rose. You've gotta believe me, I only ever wanted the best for you. I know I made some misjudgments in what that was but I want to make things right." Her father said fervently.

After a few moments of silence Rosalie got up from where she sat and walked hesitantly to her father. "I guess I can forgive you." She said struggling with each word, still uncertain about it.

Her father jumped up and wrapped her in a warm embrace. "Thank you, I promise you I'll do my best to make it worth it." He said with a wide smile on his face.

Rosalie slowly relaxed and hugged him back tightly. "Thank you, Dad, for giving _me_ a chance, and for believing me." She said softly.

As they both let go, they sat down and started to talk. Rose updated her dad on everything that had been going on in her life and he listened intently as he started to get to know his daughter again. As they did she slowly began to trust him more and more. Before they knew it, V was calling from the other room to tell Rosalie that Emmett had arrived.

"Well, I should be getting home anyways." Rose's father said, getting up to leave.

"No wait." Rosalie said, grabbing his arm to stop him. "I want to you to meet him." She said, smiling softly.

He smiled back and offered her his arm. They walked together in silence, enjoying the newfound closeness between them.

"Hi, Emmett." Rosalie greeted him with a smile as they got into the front hall. "I want you to meet my dad." She gestured to toward her dad.

"Dad, this is Emmett." She said, turning back to her father.

He extended his hand to Emmett with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too, Sir." Emmett said shaking his hand with a slightly nervous smile.

"I hear I should be thanking you." Rosalie's dad said.

Emmett shook his head. "No need for thanks. "

"No, there is need for thanks. You saved my daughter from who knows what, and you've been here for her when I should have been. So, thank you." Her dad said gratefully.

He looked at Emmett and Rosalie and smiled. "Well, it's been nice meeting you but it looks like you two are going out and I have to go anyways."

Rosalie hugged him tightly. "It was great to see you again, Dad."

"You too, hun. I'll see what I can do about getting your mother on our side too." He said quietly as he hugged her back. "Bye! You two have a good time!" He said as he walked out the door.

Emmett and Rosalie watched him drive away. Rosalie smiled as she watched him go. She'd always been closer with her mom before, her father was always so distant but maybe just maybe that could all change.

Then Emmett turned to her, his voice breaking through her thoughts. "So are you ready to go?" He asked excitedly.

"Sure but do I get to find out where we're going?" She asked back teasingly.

He shook his head and his blue eyes twinkled with mischief. "Sorry, I can't, it's a surprise. Come on!" He said tugging on her hand to lead her outside.

She smiled brightly, feeling the excitement she'd had earlier come back. Everything was working out great. Her dad was on her side now. She was going out with Emmett. Royce was gone. Maybe everything really would be okay.

**Authour's Note: So? What do you think? Is everything really going to work out okay?  
Oh, oh! I have to tell you guys, I just got Twitter! It's totally amazing and you should all join! Then you should follow me! If you do, you can keep up on when I'm writing and get random teasers from upcoming chapters too! Just go to my profile and click my homepage and it will bring you to my Twitter profile.  
Oh while you're at my profile, I'd love to know what you think of the pictures and the playlist! So make sure you come back here and review after you done on my profile!**


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